To bard, and not to bard: The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's Ben Bonenfant and Jamie Ann Romero starred in last year's "Our Town," left, and again in this year's "Romeo and Juliet." (Photos by Glenn Asakawa, Provided by University of Colorado).

Are we bored with the bard?

The numbers suggest as much: This year, only 37 percent of the productions offered by the 10 leading Shakespeare festivals in North America were written by their namesake.

And this is the first summer since 1972 that the Colorado Shakespeare Festival hasn't presented at least three Shakespeare titles in Boulder.

The world's greatest playwright seems to be exiting, stage left, from festivals that carry his name, presumably so that audiences won't. And while offering non-Shakespeare titles is hardly new, fests are turning to a much broader variety of programming . . . and not just dusty Bard-like copycats.

Alabama Shakes is serving up "Menopause the Musical" and "Elvis: The Early Years" as alternatives. Stratford in Ontario, the granddaddy of them all, is offering "Jesus Christ Superstar."

Oregon is presenting "August: Osage County" and "The Pirates of Penzance." At Orlando, it's "A Tuna Christmas." At Utah, "Dial M for Murder." And in Lennox, Mass.: "The Kick-(Butt) Wit of Molly Ivins."

Why, Shakespeare is becoming a bit player at his own party.

"What I make of that is, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, and there are only about 12 that people really know to some degree," Colorado Shakes producing artistic director Philip Sneed said. "It's hard to do those same 12 plays over and over — and the other 25 are much harder sells."

At Colorado Shakes, the second-oldest Bard fest in the nation, this summer's marquee event is Nikolai Gogol's 1842 political satire "The Inspector General," helmed by one of Russia's leading directors. Also on the Boulder bill: Antoine de Saint-Exupery's children's novel, "The Little Prince." And, oh yeah: "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Comedy of Errors."

"I think a lot of Shakespeare festivals are realizing, 'Hey, maybe "The Inspector General" would actually sell better than, say, "Measure for Measure" — because it's a comedy, and "Measure" is a harder play to figure out,' " Sneed said. "So, better to mix it up."

Festival leaders are responding to the times, changing tastes and a surge in entertainment competition. And none too soon. According to the Institute of Outdoor Drama, a public service agency run by East Carolina University that tracks audience trends, average nightly attendance at outdoor Shakespeare festivals fell 42 percent from 2001 to 2010. While Colorado Shakes managed to break even last year, it weathered a $1 million revenue shortfall the two previous years.

Does that mean Shakespeare is on the run? Not so fast, say festival directors.

"Most Shakespeare festivals could not survive without their core Shakespeare audience," Sneed said. "But I don't think they can be 'either/or,' anymore — they also have to reach people who are interested in other plays."

Sneed looks around the Denver arts landscape and sees significant competitive forces that just weren't here 25 years ago. And two new arts centers set to open in Douglas County. "I just think we have to be competitive with other kinds of theaters that offer a wider range of material," he said, "never mind the competition from all other media."

But where to draw the line?

Nearly every Bard festival has adopted an expanded mission that includes popular non-Shakespeare offerings, old and new. Commissioning new work is becoming an emerging priority. Holiday plays, as well. Many companies shake things up with Bard-themed crossovers, such as Chicago Shakes' "Elizabeth Rex," which imagines Queen Elizabeth as she's being entertained by Shakespeare and his acting company on the night before the beheading of her rumored lover.

What's new is seeing titles like "Menopause" on Shakespeare festival calendars. That's a musical that takes pop songs like "Stayin' Alive" and re-lyricizes them to menopausal themes ("Stayin' Awake").

"I'm not going to go that far," said Sneed. "I think there has to be some connection to an idea of a classic."

But Alabama's Geoffrey Sherman says offering "Menopause" — which is actually a summer bonus — hardly nullifies the company's 10 year-round offerings (three by the Bard) and three commissioned world premieres just this year. So what's the harm, when companies are fighting for every dollar, in tossing in a proven title that's been seen by more than 11 million worldwide?

"As the state theater of Alabama, we have a mandate to serve our locals," Sherman said. "It used to be thought that theaters such as ours would function primarily as museums for 'the classics.' But we work to be an active stimulus to our community."

Even if that comes at the painful, necessary expense of older, more loyal audiences, he said. And it does.

That's the perpetual challenge every artistic director at every theater faces: how to turn young people like Merrily Hill Smith into lifetime patrons. She's 34, a savvy theatergoer and a Denver Center Theatre Company subscriber. And she admits it: She just doesn't dig Shakespeare.

"I love going to the theater, but I don't get excited about Shakespeare," she said. "Sometimes it's hard to follow, and I like to see more contemporary shows I can more easily relate to."

She called the Denver Center's "Ruined" "the best thing I have seen in my life." Her favorite Shakespeare play is "A Midsummer Night's Dream" — and she's not alone. The Denver Center's February staging was seen by more than 20,000, second only to last season's "A Christmas Carol." At May's Denver Public Schools Shakespeare Festival, 114 of the 400 short scenes performed by students were from "Midsummer." Colorado Shakes' 2007 staging remains the biggest-selling production in Sneed's four years in Boulder — "and by a huge percentage," he said.

Puck and company are clearly the gateway for turning young theatergoers on to Shakespeare.

"But you just can't do 'Midsummer' every season, unfortunately," Sneed said.

So if his festival is to have any hope of attracting people like Smith, there must be alternatives.

Des McAnuff, the Stratford artistic director, believes there is a danger of Shakespeare festivals losing their audiences as their patrons age if they don't try to revitalize their art and engage the imaginations of young people.

"I actually believe there's a huge appetite among young people for live performance, precisely because it's so different from the electronic media in which they're immersed these days," he said. "But to take advantage of that, we do have to present Shakespeare to them in ways that will resonate with their own experience."

The challenge of staying relevant

If theaters can present Shakespeare in a way young people can relate to, and seems pertinent to their lives and without sacrificing the text, then McAnuff sees no problem in taking certain storytelling liberties.

"If you just keep doing Shakespeare the way you saw it done 20 years ago, with no attempt to delve into what those plays mean to us today, then, yes, your audiences are going to decline," he said. "And deservedly so."

Even if that runs counter to what Boulder audiences have told Sneed, who's never been afraid of getting jiggy with his Shakespeare concepts.

"I think there is always going to be an audience for safe, traditional productions done well," said Sneed, who decided to present "Romeo and Juliet" this summer as a full period, traditional production. "But that's an edgy thing for us to do, since we haven't done such a thing in so long," he said.

At the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, they're hearing yet another message from patrons.

"We have found through our surveys that our new playgoers want to see Shakespeare, contrary to our expectations that they would prefer to see more contemporary plays," said spokeswoman Amy Richard. But when larger festivals like hers can offer up to 12 plays, that means four Bard titles a year and plenty of room for alternatives like "August: Osage County" and "Pirates of Penzance."

"It's a kaleidoscope, and we keep that notion as a watchword in all our season planning," she said. Whether it's Shakespeare, "Osage County" or "Pirates," she said, "It's all about language. We're a language-based theater, and we are something of a language feast."

Week's Best Bet: Curious Theatre's "On An Average Day"

In this Shepardesque psychological black comedy, two estranged brothers attempt to reconnect in the filthy kitchen of their decrepit childhood house and piece together their dark, shared history. The play is both a psychological drama and pitch-black comedy at once. Written by John Kolvenbach. Directed by A. Lee Massaro. Starring Michael Kingsbaker and Brian Shea. Through July 23. Curious Theatre, 1080 Acoma St., 303-623-0524 or curioustheatre.org

Most recent theater openings

"Chess" Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre is the first local company to present the original London version of this popular musical by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeu of ABBA. Set during the Cold War intrigue of an international chess tournament, "Chess" dramatizes the romantic checkmate between an American chess champion, his lover and a Russian opponent secretly planning to defect to the West. Through Aug. 19. 404 Vine St., Grand Lake, 970-627-3421 or rockymountainrep.com

"The Female Odd Couple" In 1985, Neil Simon revised his classic roommate comedy for a female cast. It is based on the same story line, about a compulsive neatnik who moves in with her slovenly best friend. Through July 21. Presented by Little Theatre of the Rockies at the Norton Theatre on the University of Northern Colorado campus, Greeley, 970-351-2200 or arts.unco.edu/ltr.

"Godspell"Stephen Schwartz's innocent musical has a group of friends acting out the gospel of St. Matthew in nearly entirely improvised fashion. Through Aug. 26. Lake Dillon Theatre, 176 Lake Dillon Drive, 970-513-9386 or lakedillontheatre.org

"Hazel Kirke" This classic 1880 melodrama tells the story of a young girl, Hazel, who is disowned by her father after following her heart and marrying a man against his wishes. With an all-new olio music revue. Through Sept. 3. Thin Air Theatre Company at the Butte Theatre, 139 E. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek, 719-235-8944 or butteoperahouse.com

"Masque the Musical: A Cheesecake Love Story" In this new musical, two performing artists are caught in a loving yet tumultuous relationship. Together, they try to reconcile the tensions between them via poetry, monologue and song. Through July 14. Presented by Ridley Enterprises at the Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St., 303-339-3819 or ridleyltd.com

"Moonlight and Magnolias" This comedy imagines the behind-the-scenes chaos at the filming of "Gone With the Wind." Legendary film producer David O. Selznick has only five days to hire a new director and screenwriter. One problem: His new writer hasn't read the book. Through July 31. Vintage Theatre, 2119 E. 17th Ave., 303-839-1361 or vintagetheatre.com

"Murder at the Howard Johnson's" Farcical midlife romp in which a love triangle goes awry, leading to mischief. Written by Ron Clark and Sam Bobick. Through July 10. The Edge, 9797 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood, 303-232-0363 or theedgetheatre.com

"Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter" When a U.S. Marine returns from the war in Iraq, she lays down her rifle but can't pick up her children. Julie Marie Myatt's play asks the difficult psychological question: Are we ready to meet our female veterans returning from combat? Through July 17. Springs Ensemble Theatre, 1903 Cache la Poudre, Colorado Springs, 719-447-1646 or springsensembletheatre.com

One-day event to run slide down University HillIt's not quite the alternative mode of transportation that Boulder's used to, but, for one day this summer, residents will be able to traverse several city blocks atop inflatable tubes.

"The Harder They Come" (Ecco), by T.C. Boyle T.C. Boyle's new book is about serious subject matters: a tourist from a cruise liner killing a robber at a port of call, a mentally ill young man running around with an assault rifle in the coastal forests of northern California, a radical movement that doesn't recognize the legitimacy of laws or Full Story